Spring’s coming, but first more winter

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Thursday, the first day of spring, should be sunny and warm, forecasters say.
But we’ll have to slog through a little more winter first.
When rain turned to sleet and began icing over roads Monday, local schools sent students home early and canceled after-school activities.
And with the National Weather Service extending a winter weather advisory through 11 a.m. today, the Rowan-Salisbury School System is operating on a three-hour delay for students and a one-hour delay for staff.
Kannapolis City Schools officials were expected to decide early today whether students would be going in late this morning.
The forecast included freezing rain, sleet and freezing fog. The Weather Service said the heaviest precipitation would fall overnight, and although accumulation was expected to be less than an eighth of an inch, forecasters warned of black ice forming on the roads. Motorists are advised to use caution. Bridges and overpasses can be especially dangerous.
Slippery conditions caused multiple wrecks in Rowan County on Monday, including a head-on collision in which two adults and two children were taken to the hospital and another accident where a vehicle overturned.
Temperatures were expected to dip to around 30 Monday night, with freezing rain turning to rain around midday today and a high in the low 40s. Rowan will warm up after that, with highs around 60 on Wednesday and in the mid- to upper-60s the rest of the week.
Average temperatures for this time of year are low 60s during the day and around 40 at night.